Budapest, Hungary

Budapest, Hungary. Another incredible city. Friendly people, tons of good restaurants, amazing subway system, beautiful architecture, and an interesting history. And again, 2 days was not nearly enough.

I got to the city on Saturday and found my Airbnb apartment. It was right in the city center. Budapest was packed with tourists and locals eating at the countless restaurants lining the streets. I was amazed at the amount of restaurants, clubs, and bars. I’ve never been in a city with such an active nightlife.

I spent the day yesterday being the ultimate tourist. I took the Hop-On-Hop-Off (HOHO) bus tour around the city and saw all of the historical sights. When I was up at the Buda Castle on the Buda side of the river (there’s a Buda side and a Pest side), the sky changed from clear and blue to almost black in less than 2 minutes. I got back on the double-decker bus, sat on the open-air top deck, and watched the storm roll in. The guide on the bus said “it’s going to be big.” All of the sudden, it started down-pouring, and I got completely drenched in the time it took me to go from the top deck of the bus to the bottom deck. The bus started flooding, and they had to open the doors as we drove so the water could pour out. The streets were flooding too, and people were swerving all over the roads. It was the craziest storm I’ve ever seen. But 2 hours later it was over, and the skies were clear.

Even though I spent the rest of the day with soggy socks and shoes, I loved Budapest, and I can’t wait to go back. I’m on the train right now to Prague. I’m meeting up with my friend Josh from my study abroad program. It will be nice to have a travel buddy. I’ll be home in a week!